CLIMATE: Delaware lawmakers pass a bill setting greenhouse gas net emissions reduction goals of 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, in addition to setting an electric school bus target and a requirement that certain new commercial buildings be able to incorporate rooftop solar. (Delaware News Journal)
ALSO:
• In Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley planning commission receives a $1 million federal grant to complete its regional climate plan. (Morning Call)
• As climate change threatens various birds’ survival, a group of researchers works to record the songs of over 300 species at Acadia National Park to form a snapshot of the current population. (Maine Public Radio)
• Opponents of New York City’s plan to protect part of its waterfront from rising sea levels and flooding say it may do more harm than good. (Architectural Digest)
OIL & GAS:
• A think tank’s analysis shows economic promises made during the development of an ethane cracker plant in western Pennsylvania failed to materialize. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office warns in a new analysis that record-high natural gas impact fees collected in 2022 don’t foreshadow boom times, but instead mark the beginning of a decline. (Center Square)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• The transit agency of Washington, D.C., receives a $104 million federal grant to cover the cost of buying 100 electric buses and renovating a bus garage to handle electric charging. (DCist)
• Connecticut will release over $6 million in Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal funds to help pay for 54 electric vehicle charging equipment projects. (news release)
SOLAR:
• The Maine House advances a bill to reduce solar incentives, but the state’s consumer advocate says a different version of the bill would better benefit the industry. (Bangor Daily News)
• A new Maine law is intended to help farmers with PFAS-contaminated agricultural land use their property for alternative projects, like solar facilities, to make money and redirect such activities from fertile soil. (Maine Public Radio)
• Pennsylvania lawmakers work to advance a bill to help public schools and community colleges install solar and use energy savings for programming. (Capital & Main)
• A Rhode Island committee approves an easement agreement necessary for developers of a solar farm in West Greenwich to proceed. (Rhode Island Current)
TRANSIT:
• Not long after celebrating service resumption, Amtrak suspends service on its Adirondack route north of Albany, citing Canadian speed regulations. (NBC 5)
• Philadelphia’s transit agency receives a $25 million federal grant to boost reliability, deliver faster service and increase trolley capacity and on-street accessibility. (CBS Philadelphia)
OFFSHORE WIND:
• In New Jersey, lawmakers consider allowing offshore wind developer Ørsted to keep tax credits that would’ve gone back to ratepayers, spurring concern from the state’s consumer advocate over potentially increased customer costs. (Associated Press)
• The Maine chapter of the AFL-CIO pushes back against the governor’s rationale for vetoing an offshore wind bill over its labor provisions. (Spectrum News)
UTILITIES: Public power advocates in Rochester, New York, say customers of the local investor-owned utility are running out of patience and seeing little progress toward remedying estimated or inaccurate bills, among other ratepayer concerns. (New York Focus)
GRID:
• A battery storage system in East Hampton, New York, was damaged in a fire in May and likely won’t be back in service this summer, when power demand is high. (Newsday)
• A developer builds a microgrid for a Montgomery County, Maryland, animal shelter consisting of rooftop solar panels, a solar carport and emergency generators. (news release)
• Atlantic City Electric finishes two grid reliability projects in Cape May County, New Jersey: a substation upgrade and the replacement of dozens of transmission tower structures. (news release)
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